


A Flash Before the Line Gets Blurry

by botanistlester (Skeletonflowers)



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Angst, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, M/M, Phanfiction, Phanniemay, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-23
Updated: 2015-10-23
Packaged: 2018-04-27 19:13:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5060680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skeletonflowers/pseuds/botanistlester
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dan gets dared to date Phil Lester, a guy from his school who only dates people for seven days before breaking up with them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Flash Before the Line Gets Blurry

**Author's Note:**

> Based somewhat off of the yaoi manga, Seven Days ^_^ Title creds go to the song, The Most Beautiful Bitter Fruit by La Dispute. I’ve been writing this for like three months so I’m so relieved it’s done with! xD Enjoy xoxo.

There’s a rumour going around about a year 13 who only dates a person for seven days. Once those seven days are finished he breaks up with them, eventually continuing on to date the first person who confesses to him the following day.

Dan has never seen him before, but he knows that this guy’s name is Phil Lester and that he’s apparently so nice to everyone he dates that nearly the entire school jumps at the chance to claim him, hoping that they would be ‘the one’ to go over those seven days. Even if that has never happened yet.

“Lester broke up with his girlfriend again today,” Dan’s friend, Chris, commented while their friend group ate some Sunday evening dinner, pushing a strand of brown hair out of his eyes. “Wonder who he’s gonna date this week.”

Dan rolled his eyes. He didn’t really care to be completely honest, never really was interested in high school drama. Besides, Phil was a year older than him and would be graduating this year, so why was everyone so hung up on him still? “I’ve never even seen the guy,” Dan admitted, taking a bite out of his veggie sandwich with as much enthusiasm as a sloth. “I don’t get why he’s so interesting.”

Three pairs of eyes all turned to look at him, making Dan shrink into his seat a bit. “You’ve never even seen the guy?” Ivy repeated, pressing her lips into a firm line. Her green eyes narrowed at him. “The reason why he’s such a big deal is because he’s the most handsome person anyone has ever laid eyes on, and is super nice on top of it. Treats everyone he dates like they’re royalty. Everyone wants a chance to feel like they mean something to someone.”

Now it was PJ’s turn to speak, giving Dan a smirk. “What if you dated him, Dan?”

Three pairs of eyes gaped at the curly haired brunette, Dan’s face turning a shade of ugly red. “Hell no! I’m not gay, mate.”

PJ rolled his eyes at his reaction. “Come on. I triple dog dare you.”

A series of gasps rang around the group, and Dan slammed his face onto the table, missing his lunch by only a centimeter. Everyone in his friend group knew that Dan physically couldn’t turn down a triple dog dare. “I fucking hate all of you,” he hissed, wringing his hands by his sides.

“Are you going to do it though?” Ivy giggled, and she twirled a strand of brown hair around her finger.

“Sadly,” Dan muttered.

His three friends grinned. “Excellent. Lester goes and stands in the courtyard by the willow tree every Monday morning at seven. The first person who confesses gets to date him.”

Dan didn’t say anything, just let out a sigh as he took another bite of his sandwich.

-

Day One

Dan made sure to wake up earlier than his usual on Monday to actually get ready. He refused to lose at something so simple. With as much enthusiasm as a kicked puppy, he threw on his nicest school uniform - the one with the least amount of wrinkles that smelled like freshly washed laundry - and straightened the curls from his hair.

At six thirty, he pressed his lips together, grabbed a lemon poppyseed muffin his mum had made for breakfast, and began the dreaded walk to school an hour earlier than he normally would have. He shoved the muffin into his mouth, relishing in the sweet, lemon-y taste while blasting Brand New into his brain to wake himself up a bit more. 

“So you tried to put a fire out

But you used gasoline

And when the congregation gathered round

You’re screaming ‘it wasn’t me.’”

Dan let out a long sigh when he caught sight of the forsaken willow tree, a beautiful stone bench sitting right under it that would be a perfect area for lovers to exchange heartfelt words. Except for the fact that Dan didn’t actually want to be sitting on the bench with anyone but himself and his music. He couldn’t imagine sitting on it with another boy, claiming how much he was supposedly ‘in love’ with the guy.

As far as he was concerned he’d never actually had strong feelings of love for anyone besides his parents, and he wasn’t sure if he ever would.

“Hi?” A voice interrupted Dan’s contemplative thoughts, one that was deep and had a twinge of a northern accent.

Dan let out the most embarrassing squeak he’s ever uttered, flinching so hard that he flung his phone onto the ground with a terrifying crack. His cheeks nearly burst into flames as the man bent down to pick it up, handing it back to him with a pale hand, smooth yet littered with tiny scars around the long fingers. Dan took the phone, trying to avoid eye contact for fear of tormenting himself even more, and he considered just calling the entire dare off.

But no, he couldn’t do that. Instead, he glanced up and made eye contact with a pair of ocean eyes, black fringe falling into his face like silk. It was the sort of hair that Dan had always pined after, wanting it for his own body but never truly achieving the mastery.

“Phil Lester?” He asked, trying to make his voice sound as if he knew what he was talking about. Breathy, like Dan had feelings for this strangely attractive male before him. He set the phone down beside him and bit his lip while trying to contain his nerves.

Phil nodded and he smiled, but it didn’t really reach his eyes. It seemed as if he was only being polite at this point. “And how may I owe you this pleasure?”

Dan snorted and rolled his eyes, smirking a bit at the way Phil was trying to be charming. It didn’t particularly work. “I’m Dan Howell. Er,” he paused, fidgeting with his uniform to make himself seem more nervous. Although he felt bad for lying, Phil wouldn’t remember him after seven days anyways. “I’ve, uh, liked you since I started attending here.” Another dramatic pause while Phil smiled encouragingly at him. “So would you please go out with me?”

There was a long pause where Dan imagined he could hear Phil let out a long breath he was holding. And then Phil nodded, his onyx hair falling into a sea of cerulean for a moment before he pushed the strands away. Dan could definitely understand why everyone wanted to date Phil Lester. “Of course,” Phil murmured, giving him a little grin. “Did you want to go get a bite to eat after school ends? I know a cafe from just down the road that sells the best chocolate croissants.”

Nodding, Dan finally got a moment to breathe. Even though he knew Phil would agree (since he never turned anyone down), he couldn’t help but wonder if Phil would turn him down based on his gender. Obviously that wasn’t the case.

They bid farewell after exchanging numbers, Dan nearly cutting his thumb on his newly cracked phone as he entered the information. A sort of memory for stupidly agreeing to date a man when he was never even attracted to the gender in the first place.

“Did you do it, Howell?” Chris prodded when he caught sight of him after fourth hour, on the way to lunch. Chris resembled that of an excited pug. “Are you Lester’s new bitch?”

Dan’s lips pressed together of their own accord, and he rolled his eyes as if he was hoping they would fall out of his eye sockets. “What if he would have turned me down?” Dan proposed, prodding his PB&J with a finger. He looked longingly at his friend’s chicken nuggets, wishing for once that he wasn’t a vegetarian.

“He wouldn’t have,” PJ pointed out. “He’s been doing this for three years. Why would you be any different?”

“Thanks for basically calling me dull,” Dan snorted, resulting in his friend throwing a grape at him. “And I’m not his 'bitch,’ by the way. I told you yesterday that I’m not gay, and even if I did fancy men, I would definitely be the one in control.”

“Right.”

Dan glared at his friends, resisting the urge to smash his PB&J into each of their faces. “I fucking hate all of you.”

PJ smiled smugly. “Maybe this will actually get you laid.”

Ivy, who had been quiet through the entire conversation, tsked at that. “I seriously doubt that,” she said through a mouthful of chicken. “Lester has rules. When he dates someone, he puts everything into it. Texts them, calls them, takes them on fun dates. But he refuses to touch them, and he definitely doesn’t kiss or fuck them. Always spews out crap about 'true love’ or some shit like that.” She let out a sigh, slurping milk through the school’s tiny straw. “Must be a sad life, dating dozens of people without ever being emotionally invested in them enough to even touch them.”

Dan pressed his lips together, trying to imagine dating a person without touching them. Obviously, if they didn’t want him to touch them, Dan wouldn’t, but he found it hard to believe that no one tried to get with Phil while they were dating him.

So either Phil had major respect for the person he dates, asexual, or something else that Dan couldn’t currently find a solution to. Hell, even the fact that Phil dated people for seven days was a huge mystery he wanted to crack. Self confidence issues, maybe? Or the need to feel loved? It’s got to be something.

His friends were complaining about how Dan was going to remain a virgin for the rest of his life, but Dan barely processed what they were saying. He was too busy trying to crack the reason as to why Phil put himself on the dating rack every week, but didn’t want to touch the people he was dating.

By the end of the day, Dan came up empty handed and he decided that he would have to find out for himself.

The vibrating of his phone interrupted his erratic thoughts twenty minutes before his last class let out.

Phil: Hello boyfriend r u ready to eat the best croissant youve ever had??

Dan snorted, earning a glare from his French teacher mid-rant about fucking passé composé or whatever she was going on about.

Dan: my belly is rumbling just thinking about it bae

Phil: it will make u implode from deliciousness i promise (meet me by the willow tree after class xoxo)

Sending a row of X’s and O’s back with mild regret of 'what the hell am I doing I’m not a gay’, he glanced at the clock to find that he only had ten minutes left until he was free from the hell of French class.

“Dan,” the teacher snapped when he glanced down at his phone once more.

“Oui?”

“Écoutez, s'il vous plaît! Classe n'est pas terminée.”

He muttered a small apology of, “Désolé,” when he couldn’t actually care less. For some reason, he was weirdly excited about his date with Phil. Probably because literally everyone liked the guy and he was curious as to why he was such a huge deal. Or maybe he was excited for the croissant.

Either way, he could barely sit still in his chair.

Alas, the bell let out three shrill rings, reverberating through Dan’s ear canals like they were trying to deafen him. As soon as the first one ended, he was out of his chair and heading towards the tree like a bumblebee attracted to pollen.

Phil was already there when he caught sight of the tree, talking to a girl with soft blonde hair with a small smile on his face. Dan slowed down to give Phil enough time to wrap up his conversation, watching as the older boy scratched at the back of his head awkwardly mid-sentence, something that made the girl frown.

As he got closer, he could make out the quiet words that Phil uttered in an apologetic voice. “I’m sorry, Janine. I’ve already accepted someone’s confession.” There was a gnawing feeling in Dan’s stomach at the words, realization that the girl had just tried to ask Phil on a date. But whatever. It’s not as if Dan had any feelings towards another man, so he tried to push the pang of jealousy to the back of his throat as he approached a bit quicker. “Maybe you can try again next Monday.”

The words hurt, but Dan ignored it because he knew it was inevitable. Phil’s smile grew when he caught sight of Dan, waving slightly. “Hi, Dan!” He greeted, ignoring the nasty look that Janine had sent his way when she realized that Dan was the person Phil was dating. There was no doubt that this news would be completely spread through the school by tomorrow. “Are you ready for those croissants?”

Dan chuckled and nodded, adjusting the red and black tie around his neck. “My stomach has been craving them ever since this morning,” he joked, elbowing Phil in the arm. He tried to ignore the way Phil moved away from his touch, realizing that what Ivy had said wasn’t a rumor. 

Phil smiled and nodded in agreement, turning back to Janine with an apologetic look on his face. “I’m sorry again,” he repeated, “but I have to get going. I’ll see you around?”

She nodded, blonde curls bouncing around her face, but her blue eyes narrowed at Dan, contemplating. “Didn’t know you were gay, Howell,” she said coolly. “No wonder you never get any women.”

Dan winced but replied with, “There’s such a thing as bisexual, Janine. And I don’t know if you understand this, but I don’t need to be in a relationship to be happy.” He turned away from her, gazing at Phil and grinning. “I’m going on a date with Phil now. See you around.”

“Sorry about that,” Phil apologized when she left. “Normally everyone knows as soon as I start to date a new person, but apparently everyone thought I was still available because of how early you confessed this morning. So nobody really knew.”

Dan shrugged, his backpack raising and falling on his shoulders as he began to follow his boyfriend (the word felt strange in his head) down the road. “It’s okay. I expected something like this to happen. You’re kind of popular, aren’t you?”

“Not really. People just know of me, I suppose.”

Dan opened his mouth to deny that when he was cut off as Phil came to a stop in front of a small shop called 'Café au Lait’.

“Café au Lait?” Dan snorted, shaking his head in amusement. “Are you seriously telling me that this cafe is called 'Coffee with Milk’?”

Phil let out a loud snort, covering his smile with a slender hand as soon as Dan saw a pink tongue flick out from his teeth. “Is that what that means?” He mused.

“You don’t understand, Phil. Every time I see a stupid item with a french phrase on it, it’s always ridiculous and says shit like 'I Love’. Like, what do you love? Do people actually buy crap like that just for the aesthetic?!”

Shaking his head in amusement, Phil opened the door to fucking Coffee With Milk. “Are you done?”

Dan sighed and nodded, running a hand through his hair and noting with despair that it was beginning to curl at the ends from the heat. He hoped Phil didn’t notice.

The cafe was quite small, with only about six round tables that had two chairs each. There was a large chalk board with drawings of all the different types of drinks and what were in each of them, and there was also a display with pastry items deliciously taunting him. Dan’s mouth watered at all of the different types of muffins.

“Take your pick,” Phil offered, nudging him toward the counter where a worker was grinning invitingly at them.

Dan ended up ordering an iced white chocolate mocha with extra white chocolate, along with a chocolate croissant, deciding he would just give in to the alluring scent of baked bread and sugar.

“Good choice,” Phil said close to his ear, so close that the warmth of his breath sent shivers down Dan’s spine. He ended up just ordering a chocolate croissant with a caramel macchiato.

The coffee ended up being the best fucking coffee Dan has ever had, the sweetness lingering on his tongue and making his taste buds explode. “Oh my god,” he moaned, downing a few gulps until he decided to begin eating the croissant. “How have I not been here before? This place is bomb af.”

“I’m glad you like it.” Phil took a few sips from his drink, smiling at Dan. He still seemed a bit reserved, which made Dan want to do nothing more but to crack his shell and find out what he’s like underneath all of the armor. “So tell me a bit about yourself.”

And this is where Dan’s mind went blank because he never knew what to say about himself, and Dan Howell is a relatively boring person. “Er, well, I’m Dan. I’m a year 12 and a vegetarian. I have one older brother named Aiden who I’m pretty close with, and I have a cat named Taco that I love more than myself. I can also play the piano somewhat.”

Phil nodded, seeming intrigued with Dan’s awkward introduction. He put his croissant down and wiped his fingers on a napkin. “I’m Phil, a year 13. I’m an only child and live with my mum and my dog named Doge-.”

“Wait,” Dan cut him off, raising his hand to stop him from continuing. “You have a fucking dog named Doge?”

Phil giggled, his tongue poking between his teeth. “Yeah, he’s a Shibe as well.”

“I swear to God, I will come over to your house and pet the fuck out of your dog.”

Phil agreed and they continued talking until both of their coffees were long gone, and the ice in Dan’s had turned almost completely to water. “Shall we go?” Phil asked when Dan found that it was nearing six o'clock.

“Yeah, probably.” He was surprised by how disappointed he was about having to leave. Phil actually turned out to be a really cool guy, with the same interests as Dan, including an unhealthy obsession for Muse and Netflix.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Phil murmured, and the grin on his face was almost the equivalent of the fucking sun.

Dan couldn’t help but grin back, the dimple on his cheek deepening. “See you tomorrow, Phil. I had a really fun time.”

“I did too, we’ll have to go on another date soon.”

They parted ways and Dan pulled out his phone, sending a quick group message to his friends.

Dan: has phil lester always been such a bottle of fucking sunshine?

Only a few seconds passed before three messages barrelled back at him.

Ivy: Shit

PJ: DAN NO

Chris: youve got to be fucking with me

-

Day Two

Dan was awoken by his mum knocking on the door at seven in the morning, an entire hour before school actually started. “Dan, sweetie?”

He let out a grunt in response, shuffling around in his covers to attempt sleep once again. Even five more minutes would be more ideal than waking up this early.

His mum said something too quiet for him to hear before cracking his door open, a stream of light glaring into his shut eyes. He groaned and reached for the nearest object - a pillow - and chucked it at her, earning a light laugh and a deep chuckle.

Wait… A chuckle?

“Your friend Phil is here, honey. He brought you doughnuts!”

Dan’s eyes shot open at the mention of Phil’s name, his cheeks turning a bright crimson at the realization that Phil could probably see him half-naked on the bed and let out a squeak. “And you let him in?!” Dan whined, sighing as he was forced to stand up. He stretched, his arms flailing wildly above him as he let out a yawn before facing his mum and Phil, who was staring at him with half amusement and half embarrassment. “Hi, Phil,” Dan finally greeted, picking up a shirt from the ground to throw it on. “I’ll be down in just a second, okay?”

“Take your time, lazy bones,” Phil joked and shut the door, forcing Dan to turn on the light with a bitter expression. He didn’t really question why Phil was here, but supposed that he probably did this to everyone he dated.

He didn’t really bother straightening his hair today, too worn out from the early wake up yesterday, and instead threw on his school uniform and brushed his teeth. Ten minutes later, he bounded down the stairs, thanking his mum when she handed him a coffee made exactly how he liked it. “Thanks, mum,” he said, kissing her on the cheek before looking over at Phil and putting his backpack on his shoulders.

Phil gave him a huge grin, one that lit the kitchen with the sheer brightness. “Morning again,” he said, opening the white box in his hands. “I didn’t know what type of doughnut you liked so I just bought a few different ones.”

“Thank you.” Dan felt a blush coming onto his face so he ignored it, instead bidding farewell to his mum and grabbing a glazed pastry, shoving it into his mouth. “These are wonderful.”

“Made specially for you,” Phil joked, wriggling his eyebrows at him. “You and that curly hair of yours.”

“Shut the fuck up before I shove a doughnut into your face,” Dan growled playfully, biting into his pastry as a way to be mildly threatening. All it did was conjure a deep chuckle from Phil’s throat.

The walk to school was short, Dan thanking the lord that his parents chose to live so close to the school so that he only had to walk ten minutes before he arrived. Due to the male at his side, he received several stares from curious classmates, confused as to why Phil Lester was dating a boy. Especially a boy like Dan.

“You get a lot of attention, don’t you?” Dan sighed, wonderinn why his voice sounded so bitter.

Phil glanced at him from the corner of his eye, ruffling Dan’s curly locks with a large hand. “They’re only looking because I have a gorgeous guy by my side.”

The fact that the line was so utterly cheesy made Dan feel both as if he was going to barf and catch on fire at the same time.

But Phil doesn’t mean it. Calm down, Dan.

“Dan!”

The voice made the brunette snap away from his weird cloud of emotions, immediately grinning at the sight of his three best friends. “Hey,” he greeted, gesturing them forward so he could formally introduce them to Phil.

They came to a stop in front of the two, three pairs of eyes raking down Phil’s body like a trio of hungry lions. PJ gave Dan a small smirk while Ivy looked as if she was about to jump Phil’s bones, ending with Chris glaring at Dan. He figured it was due to the group message from last night.

“This is Phil,” Dan said calmly, ignoring the range of emotions as a way to calm his own down. “My boyfriend. And Phil, these are my best mates; Chris, PJ, and Ivy.”

They all muttered hellos to each other, Phil being the only one who bothered to give everyone a wide smile. Afterwards, Phil excused himself, claiming that he had to go talk to one of his teachers before class started.

Dan took out his third doughnut and began to eat it, not meeting any of his friends eyes. “I don’t know if I can go through with these seven days,” he mumbled through a bite of dough.

“What?!” Three voices screeched, attracting more stares than originally.

“Dan- you never give up on a dare,” Ivy whined. “Why is this any different?”

He wiped powder onto his pants, white streaks embedding into the thread. “Phil is a different person than I expected. He’s nice and I like him. I don’t know if I want to go through this and then pretend it didn’t happen when it’s over.”

PJ frowned. “You don’t have to continue if you don’t want to, Dan. We’re not forcing you to do anything you don’t want to.”

Dan gnawed on his lip. He didn’t want to be a pansy and back out of this dare. It should be simple anyways. Date Phil Lester for seven days. He could do it, he just couldn’t let himself get attached. “I’ll just put up with it,” he concluded. “I’m not a wimp.”

Chris patted him on the back, hard slaps making Dan’s shoulders sting. “That’s my Dan!”

Phil ended up meeting him after his class before lunch break, blinding smile glued on his face like usual. “Lunch with me?” He asked, giving Dan a puppy dog look.

Dan agreed, feeling as if he would be kicking a dog otherwise. Sending a quick text to his friends to tell them of his whereabouts, he followed Phil through the school, up three flights of stairs, until they emerged onto the roof.

“The school roof?” Dan commented, raising his eyebrows. The sun warmed his face, the autumn breeze kissing his cheeks. “I feel like I’m a character in an anime.”

Phil giggled, a noise that was strange coming from such a beautiful person. “If only we had a couple of bentos, this would literally become a shoujo anime.”

“You watch anime?”

“Who do you take me for? A sports fanatic?” Phil rustled around in his backpack, pulling out a lunchbox. “In all seriousness, I did bring some food. Not exactly a homemade bento, but it’ll do.” He unzipped it with a quiet metallic noise, revealing a bottle of (clearly watered-down) ribena, two peanut butter and banana sandwiches, potato salad, and what looked to be some sort of yoghurt mixed with strawberries. “A meal made for a prince,” Phil joked while pulling out some eating utensils.

“How the fuck did you fit all of this in your bag?”

“Very carefully, now shut up and eat. We’re supposed to be romantic anime characters, remember?”

Dan laughed, letting out a cackle that put crows to shame. “Fine, but you’ll definitely tell me your secret later.”

-

Day Three

Dan knew he was screwed as soon as Phil asked him to hang out with him after school. Typically, Dan wouldn’t particularly give a shit except for the fact that he couldn’t help but feel some sort of terrible warmth in his stomach whenever he saw Phil, and the fact that a disgusting grin murdered his face whenever Phil sent a text his way.

He slapped himself in the face, earning a few stares from classmates, but not really caring.

If he developed a little elementary school crush on a man, much less Phil Lester, King of Weekly Relationships, he might as well just accept his fate and jump in front of a car right now. At least then it would hurt less when he was crushed under a giant metallic machine rather than getting dumped at day seven.

But of course, his stupid fucking lips made him agree to hanging out with his imaginary boyfriend. Emphasis on the imaginary because they were basically not really dating anyways. Who the fuck is in a relationship with someone and doesn’t even want to brush skin with them, knowing that their relationship is doomed from the start?

Dan would rather cut his own balls off than to tell his three friends that he developed a crush on Phil Fucking Lester.

Phil’s eyes turned the bright colour of the summer sky when he caught sight of Dan after school, waving wildly as Dan tried not to run over to him like an anime schoolgirl. “How are you today?” Phil asked, smiling brightly at him. The gesture made Dan’s heart stutter like a heart attack in his chest.

“Pretty good,” Dan quipped a bit too short for his liking. Realizing his tone, he tried to relax as he went on. “Are you ready to get your ass beat at Smash Bros?”

Phil shook his head, chuckling. “If anything, you’re going to be the one begging me to go easy on you.”

Dan wondered if Phil knew the words coming out of his mouth and how they could easily have turned Dan on if he had been in the mood. But instead of dwelling on that problematic fact, he instead turned his Wii U on, using the pause as the game started as a way to clear his mind. “The Villager?” Dan snorted when he saw Phil’s choice of character. “My Zelda is going to beat your actual ass, bro.”

“Come at me, then. I’ll show you who’s the real winner here.”

Phil ended up pounding Dan into the ground, his smile smug as Dan nearly threw the controller at the television. “I told you I would dominate you,” Phil joked, his smile a million pearls reflecting off of pristine light, eyes a galaxy of blue and yellow and green as if he was an entire universe trapped in a human body. Dan caught himself staring, his hands clenched tightly around the controller, creaking as if it was about to break into two.

He had to keep reminding himself that, this isn’t real. In four days, Phil will be just another memory left in the dust and life will continue on as an old monochrome picture frame, just as it used to be.

Though he told himself that, he couldn’t block out the way the veins on Phil’s pale hands were accented as he held onto the remote, or how his hair was swirls of ink on a wonderland of freckled snow skin. Phil grinned at him and Dan could feel himself drowning in an abyss of blue.

Dan didn’t want to have anything to do with this idiotic dare anymore. He didn’t like the feeling of suffocating under a thin sheet of water, unable to swim to the surface even though the reflection of the sun was just out of reach. He didn’t like the cherry blossom pink that littered his cheeks when Phil shamelessly flirted, or the way Dan’s voice died in his throat when Phil smiled. And despite all of that, Dan didn’t want to do it anymore because a) Dan thought he was straight for his entire life and, b) Dan wanted to date Phil.

For real.

He voiced these thoughts to PJ at one in the morning after Phil went home with a promise to walk him to school again in the morning. Dan always enjoyed these phone calls with Peej because he wasn’t influenced by their two other friends at this time of night, and would therefore listen without any distractions. He listened when Dan admitted to liking Phil, and when Dan’s voice started to waver because everything he knew was suddenly crashing around him like a tsunami of emotions and existentialism.

“And I don’t even like boys the last time I checked,” Dan whimpered, “but suddenly I’m contemplating the fact that I may be bisexual because a cute boy comes along and makes me feel things that I haven’t felt since Sarah left me.” His voice cracked on the name like it hadn’t been uttered in years.

“It’s okay to start feeling these things again, Dan. It means that you’re one step closer to being completely over her.”

“But with a guy who only dates people for a week before brutally dumping them?! I must be some sort of masochist!” He let out a long sigh, threading his fingers into the curls of brown hair that was making its way into his eyes. “I just want this to be over so I can go back to my normal, uncaring life.”

He heard PJ ruffle his covers on the other side of the line and thanked the Gods that he had found someone as good of a friend as Peej is. “It’s only three more days, Dan. You’re doing really well. And what’s the worst thing that could happen in three days?”

Dan couldn’t help but think that those were some famous last words.

-

Day Four

“Skip school with me.”

Dan gaped at Phil standing before him, his face completely serious and devoid of all jokes. “Excuse me?”

In which Phil rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest, sticking his hip out to make himself look like a toddler with an attitude. “I said that you should skip school with me.”

“Why?”

Phil let out a groan, pink lips pouting out. “Does it matter?” He whined. Dan could imagine him stomping his foot as well. “I was trying to be cute and suggest a thing with my boyfriend, but you’re apparently trying to ruin my life.”

Dan’s heart fluttered at the word boyfriend - despite the fact that he knew it shouldn’t even have that effect in the first place - and he sighed, raking a hand through his newly straightened hair and looking over his shoulder to make sure his mum wasn’t listening from behind him. If she knew that he was even considering skipping, she would have literally beat his ass into the next dimension. “If I’m giving up a wonderful education for something stupid,” he whispered threateningly, “then I will make sure that my mum includes you in her next meal to the dog.”

A chuckle. And then, “Don’t you have a cat?”

“Shut the fuck up!” Dan groaned, grabbing his backpack from the floor and stowing it over his shoulder. With that, he began to walk towards the car that Phil had parked outside of his house. “So where are we going, then?”

“That’s a surprise, my dear,” Phil sang, nearly skipping over to Dan’s door and opening it for him. After he had climbed in and set his bag between his feet, Phil then climbed into the driver’s seat, sliding on some bright orange sunglasses. “I’ll tell you when we get there.”

“Better be something worth skipping math class over.”

The car ride was mostly silent between them, the radio blaring a mix of the Smashing Pumpkins, Muse, and - with Phil’s distaste - Kanye West. The occasional snide comment would come out of Dan’s mouth whenever they passed by a sketchy building or person, and Dan’s phone was continually buzzing with his friends questioning his whereabouts.

He told them that he was going on an adventure and then proceeded to turn his phone off when Chris sent a text back in all caps screaming about how Phil wasn’t there today either. Dan decided in that moment that he would just forget about the dare and the seven days and just enjoy his time with Phil.

“We’re here,” Phil eventually chided, breaking Dan away from his inner dialogue and thoughts of Kanye. Dan glanced out of the car window, eyes widening at the building they had parked in front of. “I decided it was about time to go on a date together.” Phil sounded a bit shy, but Dan barely noticed, too engaged in what was looming before them.

“An aquarium?” Dan breathed. His face was undoubtedly an ugly shade of red, and his eyes the size of a full moon. “I’ve never been to an aquarium before.”

Phil beamed at him, putting a hand on his shoulder before withdrawing it quickly and getting out of the car. He appeared by Dan’s window, opening the door for him before he responded. “Well, now you can officially say you have been to an aquarium.”

The building was absolutely gorgeous, with large glass doors, tall windows, and an arc made out of shells over an expansion of a beautiful fountain with dolphins spitting glistening streams of water from their mouths. The front of the building was made mostly of glass, the sides made of glittering silver with paintings of different sea creatures swimming on them.

“This is probably the most beautiful thing I’ve ever laid eyes on,” Dan moaned, ignoring Phil’s look at the tone of his voice.

“Just wait until we get inside.”

Inside was almost, if not prettier, than the outside with long tunnels of fish tanks on every side of them. Thousands of bright coloured corals blinked in the light of the water and hundreds of fish flitted past at lightning speed. Dan’s eyes were wide, barely blinking as a nurse shark strolled over the glass above their heads.

“Wow,” Dan whimpered, completely amazed with the pretty sights of the aquatic life. “This is literally what my aesthetic looks like.”

Beside him, Phil snorted and smiled, eyes shining. “I figured you would like it. Did I do go for a first date?”

“This is perfect, Phil. Thank you.”

Phil didn’t answer, just grinned at him as he watched the brunette gaze at the different fish. A few moments later, Dan nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt something slid over the skin of his palm, before realizing that it was Phil’s own hand.

Is he trying to hold my hand?

The thought was completely absurd, as Dan could have sworn he remembered Ivy telling him that Phil never touched anyone he dated, not even holding their hand. But obviously, that must have been a stupid rumour, considering Phil was holding his hand right at this moment.

Dan decided to just go with it, pushing away the fire in his veins to squeeze Phil’s hand gently, relishing in the way it was slightly smaller than his own and very warm. He imagined that Phil actually had feelings towards him, and that they were normal lovers going on a normal date. Imagined that they were two individuals chosen by the Earth to be intertwined for eternity, like two flames spiraling together to become one entity.

Phil didn’t let go of his hand until after they left the aquarium at three in the afternoon, and Dan didn’t mind one bit.

-

Day Five

“Tell me a story of a constellation,” Phil whispered beside him, his face tilted up towards the night sky. His eyes and skin reflected the moon and Dan wondered how a single person could be so beautiful.

Dan giggled, looking back at the (very few) stars, his hair splayed behind him on the shingles of his roof. “I don’t know any stories of any constellations.”

“That’s not true. You definitely know a few.” Or in Phil words, as Dan had learned, make some up.

“Erm,” he traced the sky with his eyes, trying to find any pattern with the glowing specks of dust in the darkness. “You see those stars there?” He pointed to a random cluster of stars, drawing a pattern that kind of resembled a dog. “That’s the constellation called Le Chien Heureux, which they named after a very happy dog who loved the moon so much that it greeted it every night with an excited howl until it eventually became stars in the sky.” Dan cringed at the faux story, knowing it was probably the worst thing he had ever come up with.

But Phil just nodded in intrigue, pursing his lips. His arm raised, pointing to another cluster of stars and drawing a random object out of them. “That one is called Le Chat Joyeux, which was named after the cat that was the dog’s trusty sidekick. The cat enjoyed the dog’s company so much that it gazed at the dog’s constellation every night until it finally joined it in the sky.”

They were quiet, letting the weight of each other’s stories hang in the air before bursting into a bout of laughter. Phil’s laugh was like music and their fingers twined together like magnets.

“Do you ever think of the relevance of our lives?” Dan asked after they both went quiet. “You know, why we exist, the absurdity of the world? All that Sartre shit.”

“First of all,” Phil started, rubbing his thumb over the back of Dan’s hand. “I don’t know who Sartre is. And, no, not particularly. I don’t think it matters, really. We exist, we are living right now. So why do we have to make everything more difficult than it is? We can’t do anything to change it, so why get stuck on the things that you can’t change?” Phil turned onto his side and booped Dan on the nose with his free hand. “Stop thinking so much, you’ll kill your pretty brain cells.”

Dan chuckled and sighed. “You’re right. Sorry.”

“No need to be sorry.” Phil’s face was so close to Dan’s that he could feel his breath on his cheeks. He tried not to think about that and instead tried to formulate more pictures in the sky. “It’s getting late, though, so I should probably head back before my mum freaks out too much.”

Nodding, Dan couldn’t help but feel disappointed as he sat up. “I had fun tonight, as always,” Dan said.

Phil grinned back, letting go of his hand to place it on Dan’s cheek. He wondered if Phil could feel the sudden heat rushing to the skin where he touched. “I always have fun with you.” This close, Phil’s eyes looked like an endless ocean, like the waters of the aquarium they went to.

Slowly, Phil leaned in, and Dan’s heart began to speed up. Was Phil going to kiss him? He felt light headed just thinking about it, and closed his eyes just in case.

But instead of those lips connecting with his own, they collided with his cheek, warm and soft and sweet. “Good night, Dan,” Phil whispered when he pulled away. Dan kept his eyes closed, too afraid to open them in case his face got way too flushed and he actually passed out.

When Dan opened his eyes, Phil was gone, but he could still feel the imprint of his lips on his skin.

-

Day Six

Dan was concerned.

It was now two in the afternoon and Phil hadn’t even texted him good morning yet like he normally did. The number six was burned into his brain and he wondered if last night was all a dream.

The hand holding, the cheek kiss. It must have been. Phil doesn’t do that stuff with the people he dates, right? Phil was normally the perfect gentleman who texted as soon as he woke up, right?

Dan felt like he was going to throw up.

His phone buzzed on the nightstand and he nearly threw himself at it, his fingers beginning to shake with anticipation. Without looking at the caller ID, he answered. “Hello?”

“Yo mate- Are you okay?” PJ’s voice rang with concern over the tinny speaker of the telephone.

Dan groaned internally. “Phil hasn’t texted me yet today.”

“Is that it?”

Groaning with more enthusiasm, Dan replied with, “He must be figuring out how to break up with me. He never goes without texting me, and he kissed my cheek last nigh-”

“He kissed your cheek?!” PJ screeched so loudly that Dan had to physically hold the phone away from his ear. “Dude! He never does that with people! Ever! He never even touches them, much less puts his lips near someone’s face.”

“But he did to me and now he’s not talking to me.”

“Obviously it’s because he’s shy. He probably hasn’t even had his first kiss yet. He obviously has the hots for you, Dan. Fuckin’ Lester, getting the hots for you. Holy shit, mate.”

Dan opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by a knock on his bedroom door. “Come in,” he called, swirling around on his chair. The door swung open to reveal Phil, hair dishevelled and eyes showing the lack of sleep from last night. He gave Dan a tired smile while he said goodbye to PJ. “Peej, I gotta go. Phil just got here.” He hung up before PJ could say anything else and gave Phil a timid smile. “Hi?”

“Hey,” Phil said in a strangely flat voice. It was then that Dan noticed how serious Phil looked, and his chest began to pound painfully. “We should talk.”

“About?” Dan’s voice was so quiet that he barely heard himself talking.

“I think we should break up.”

Dan froze, hands beginning to tremble. He knew it had been coming, completely unavoidable, except for the fact that it had only been six days. Not seven. Because of this reason - and only because of this reason - tears began to prick in his eyes. “You’re kidding right?” Dan murmured. “You’re telling me that I’m not even good enough for you that you couldn’t even give me the full seven days?”

Phil’s lips pressed into a thin line. For a brief moment, Dan thought he saw a shimmer of sadness in his eyes. “That’s not what I’m saying at all.”

“Then why the fuck do I only get six days when everybody else gets seven?!” His voice broke on the word 'everybody’.

Phil averted his eyes when the first tear fell from Dan’s eyes and onto the carpet. “I just think we should stop seeing each other, okay? I’m sorry.”

Wiping his eyes angrily, Dan let out an irritated sob. “You made me think you liked me, you know. I heard you never touched anyone you dated, but you held my hand and kissed my cheek. Nice to know everybody was lying to me.” Dan took a deep breath and looked Phil in the face, giving him a look as serious as he could muster. “Bye, Phil.”

“Dan-”

“I said, bye Phil.”

With a final glance in his direction, Phil turned out of the room, leaving Dan to watch his retreating form until he was out of sight.

Only then did he allow himself to sob, crying into the pillow until his eyes were red and his face was disgustingly sticky.

He decided that liking girls was easier.

-

Day Seven

Dan sends Phil an apology through text, and the seen under it makes his heart break a little bit more.

-

Day Eight

“Have you heard?” Chris shouts at Dan when he sits down for lunch on Monday. Three pairs of eyes glower at him, both curious and annoyed at the loudness.

“Heard what?” Ivy and Dan ask at the same time, voices tinged with annoyance.

Chris wiggles his eyebrows suggestively. “Lester turned down the person who confessed to him today.”

“What?!”

“You heard me, bitches! Lester has fallen in love and turned down the gal who asked him out today! People are trying to figure out what happened to him, but he’s keeping his lips sealed. Told the girl to tell everyone to stop trying to get with him and that he would refuse everyone’s confessions from now on.”

Dan sat back in his chair, completely rigid. He remembered how tired Phil had looked in his room the other day, his skin sickly pale and his eyes bruised purple. He wondered what happened to Phil and why he suddenly had enough of it.

A small part of his brain hoped that it was because Phil liked him, but he knew that that was most likely not true. Phil didn’t like anyone and was extremely hard to get, apparently. Dan wanted to ask him about it, wanted to know if he was okay, but he supposed it must have gotten tiring dating someone new every week.

But why make the decision right after Dan?

He decided to just say 'fuck it,’ and get over Phil Lester so he didn’t have to think about it anymore. That way, it wouldn’t hurt as badly.

-

Day Nine

Dan almost contemplated not going to school. It was Tuesday, which had always been his least favourite day of the week for some reason, and his eyes were burning from the lack of sleep that continuously haunted him.

The only reason he decided to get out of bed and get ready was for the sole reason that Peej had asked him if he wanted to get ice cream after school. Ice cream was definitely something worth going to school for in Dan’s opinion.

He took some pain medicine to relieve the pain in his head (simultaneously hoping it would stop his eyes from burning) and grabbed a piece of toast to gnaw on while walking to school. It was an ordinary tuesday, with the air crisp and smelling like it was going to rain. He hoped not soon, mostly because his hair was beginning to curl already at the humidity, but also because he wanted his damned ice cream later.

“How are you doing today, Dan?” Ivy asked when he got to his locker.

He groaned in response, trying to resist the urge of slamming his face into the metal and instead attempting at opening it. “I feel like my dog just died.”

Ivy sighed and giggled at the same time, making her sound like a weird animal. “You don’t even have a dog.”

“You know what I mean.” After three tries of attempting to open his locker, he finally got it, pulling it open with so much force he’s surprised it didn’t fling off the wall. A slip of paper fell onto his shoes.

“What’s that?” Ivy asked when he picked it up.

He shrugged and stuffed it into his pocket. “Notes,” he replied without thinking about it. He grabbed his stuff quickly, trying to shove the slip of paper out of his mind.

It didn’t come back into his thoughts until third hour, where he felt the crumbling in his pocket and dug it out. It was on normal lined paper, somewhat crinkled from Dan’s pocket, and folded neatly into a rectangle. Once opened, it revealed messy handwriting and a few doodles of hearts.

That’s when it hit Dan that this was a love letter.

Dear Dan,

Hello! I don’t really know what to say in letters like these, but I do know that you are absolutely amazing and that I may have a small crush on you (okay, maybe a big one but hush). I absolutely love your smile and the dimple you get when you laugh and the way your eyes turn honey brown in the sun, and how your hair curls by the end of the day. I want to prove this to you someday, so meet me by the willow tree during your lunch hour? I’ll be waiting!

Xoxo, your secret admirer.

Dan resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the sound of 'secret admirer’ and shoved the note back into his pocket. He would probably go, just to see who it was, but he most likely would decline since he was still upset over the whole Phil Lester incident. Everybody seems to have forgotten about him already, and he wished he could say the same thing.

So at lunch, he made his way over to the willow tree, sitting on the bench with his quickly made peanut butter sandwich and an apple juice, and began to wait. He didn’t have to wait long, as the person showed up as soon as he stuffed the sandwich into his mouth, making him splutter embarrassingly.

“I’m sorry,” Phil apologized, gingerly patting Dan on the back until the bread dislodged from his throat. “I didn’t mean to almost kill you.”

Dan scooted away about an inch, feeling slightly cold since the last encounter they had left him in tears. “What are you doing here?” He asked quietly.

Phil smiled at him, his blue eyes familiar but sad. “I wrote the letter.”

“I thought you didn’t like me. I mean, you broke up with me a day early.”

Phil looked down at his lap, flinching at his harsh tone. “I’m really sorry, Dan,” he murmured. “I was so scared. I’ve never really like anyone before. But then you came and made my stomach clench, and I knew you were dared to date me, so I was scared you would laugh in my face.”

“You- you knew?”

“Yeah, Chris told me. Said you only dated me for a dare but ended up liking me a lot. And I was scared by that so I broke up with you.”

Dan squinted his eyes and kicked a rock by his foot. “That bastard,” he muttered bitterly. But he couldn’t feel angry, really, only felt kind of numb with surprise.

Phil looked at him, reaching out and brushing a strand of brown hair from Dan’s eyes. Dan tried his hardest not to blush, but he’s pretty sure he failed. “Can we try this again?” Phil whispered, looking Dan straight in the eyes. “I really like you and I want to be your proper boyfriend. I promise I won’t run away again as long as you promise to be mine.”

Dan could feel his heart stuttering in his chest, like it was about to give out on him. He bit his lip, admiring Phil’s face from up close. On one hand, he didn’t want to get his feelings hurt again, but on the other hand, he really fucking liked Phil. “Ah, fuck it,” he sighed, giving Phil a grin. “Why not?”

Phil gave him the most dazzling smile that he had ever seen, pulling Dan into a hug that smelled of raspberries and rain. When they pulled back, Phil leaned forward again and pressed his lips to Dan’s, making Dan’s heart almost stop completely.

It was the best damn kiss Dan has ever had.


End file.
